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American Living Standards contends that the central problem of the U.S. economy has been for some years now, and for the foreseeable future will continue to be, the slowdown in the growth of living standards. This decline began in the early 1970s, was masked by a resort to overseas borrowing in the early 1980s, and now threatens to get worse in the years immediately ahead as the foreign debt bills come due. The editors and contributes to this volume seek to advance our understanding of the causes and consequences of this potential slowdown in the growth of living standards. Equally important, the book examines what policy measure holds out the best hope for presenting, or at the very least, minimizing this slowdown. Various chapters explore the changes in the level and distribution of incomes that have occurred in recent years; changes in the quality and distribution of jobs among industries and regions; what economists do and do not know about recent trends in productivity growth and in the quality of education; and what events could trigger a recession.

Book Details

266 Pages

Brookings Institution Press, December 1, 2010

Paperback ISBN:
9780815752738

Hardcover ISBN:
9780815752745

Ebook ISBN:
9780815705437

About the Editors

Robert E. Litan

Robert Z. Lawrence

Robert Z. Lawrence is a nonresident senior fellow and holder of the New Century Chair in International Trade and Economics at the Brookings Institution and professor of international trade and investment at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. His books include Globaphobia: Confronting Fears about Open Trade (Brookings, 1998) and Single World, Divided Nations? International Trade and the OECD Labor Markets (Brookings/OECD, 1996).

Charles L. Schultze

Charles L. Schultze is a former senior fellow emeritus in the Economic Studies program at Brookings.